Close Call: Watch that RTH Height!

matti · Feb 3, 2017

DJI should set the RTH default to 50-100 m.

I always check RTH after FW updates.

pomonabill220 · Feb 3, 2017

WOW that was GREAT LUCK!!!
Beautiful scenery though... real glad it made it back!

L3thalB3ard · Feb 3, 2017

Gorgeous place to fly... tough place for a drone rescue mission, glad it made it home!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Richard R · Feb 3, 2017

matti said:
DJI should set the RTH default to 50-100 m.

I always check RTH after FW updates.

Good time to remind everyone that RTH height in the Go app is metric (setting is in meters)! Be careful about mixing units!

mdowney58 · Feb 3, 2017

jbrown630 said:
The trees are discussing "the one that got away"

Yes, I saw that over on the PhantomForDinner forums!

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Russ43Phantom · Feb 4, 2017

RTH height is a critical consideration before every flight. I often fly along roads where the tree branches act as a canopy above the road. In this case, the RTH altitude needs to be limited to about 30' or else a crash with overhead branches is certain. When over local lakes, I need to set the RTH height to 180' to avoid very tall pine trees. You can't "just set it and forget it".

Squak1437 · Feb 4, 2017

Dude, you got sooo lucky!

ATP, CFII, MEI, RPO
Part 121, 135, and 91 Corporate Pilot
30 years of exploration.

dougsteph · Feb 4, 2017

**** that was close

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

captainmilehigh · Feb 4, 2017

VERY lucky indeed.

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

TrevorTron · Feb 4, 2017

Thanks to OP for sharing the experience. It is nice to see a happy (and lucky!) story, and is a testament to the drone's ruggedness. Too many stories slagging them off.

BillH · Feb 4, 2017

THAT WAS STUPID ! Just kidding LOL. I flew one sideway into a pine tree one time. Felt like a idiot, but lucked out like you did and just trimmed the tree.

Skyler King III · Feb 4, 2017

Huttcraft said:
Last weekend I was flying my P3S over a beautiful, remote and uninhabited frozen lake. Got some great shots of the rough boreal forest and rugged shoreline before shooting south over the lake at about 25 metres.

I was only 650 metres out when the signal dropped. I was watching the map but had inadvertently let the Phantom get out of direct line-of-sight. No problem: RTH will look after me. And it did.

But when the bird arrived back and landed next to me on the ice I noticed two of the props had a distinct green tint. Strange. There were also a few pine needles stuck in the joints of the camera gimbal. Hmmm.

It wasn't till I got home and uploaded the video that I realized how lucky I was. After losing signal the Phantom went into RTH mode, turned around, rose to my 30 metre preset height, and dutifully made a bee-line back to me... right through the tops of the trees on the end of a point of land between me and the quad. A metre or two to the left, a metre or two lower, and it would still be there. Incredibly lucky.

Also lucky: the SD card ran out of space within about two seconds of going through the trees. There are a few corrupt frames right before it got there, then the vid ends seconds later, but not before capturing the bushwhacking close-up.

No need to troll me with how dumb I was to use a 30 metre RTH height. I've got that. Won't happen again. Hope others learn from my mistake and get a laugh out of my close call:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

I make it a practice top always check mob RTH before sending it out . I.e. Preflight, t/o, climb to ALMOST my RTH altitude (usually 390'),move the drove 200 feet away and press RTH. If all checks out, I send it on its mission. Also be sure to RECHECK the home point on the map. These lessons were learned through the School of Hard Knocks. Every year the tuition goes up and the classes become more difficult.

tobby · Feb 4, 2017

Glad you got your bird back safely. Were you using prop guards that day?

Tobby

Drestin Black · Feb 4, 2017

Here is where the intelligent return to home feature on the P4 Pro shines, instead of turning around and bee lining it back blindly, it would back up to where you had signal moments ago so you could resume controlled flight.

Was obstacle avoidance on?

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

Huttcraft · Feb 5, 2017

tobby said:
...Were you using prop guards that day?

Nope. It's an unaccessorized, bone-stock P3S, so no obstacle avoidance either. Every time I watch the video I can't believe my luck.

Dave

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots